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Justice News

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Kansas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Johnson County Man Sentenced For Producing Child Porn

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A man from Johnson County, Kan., has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, including images of a naked two-year-old boy in a roaster pan in an oven, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

The case was part of Operation Hotlina, a major investigation into child exploitation by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of HSI Chicago, which oversees Kansas, said: “To rescue these innocent victims, HSI will relentlessly pursue child predators. Since we began Operation Hotlina a worldwide network of offenders has been, and continues to be, unraveled, including this defendant. Thanks to the determination of HSI special agents, and our law enforcement partners, we have been able to rescue 163 children and arrest 51 perpetrators worldwide.”

Michael D. Arnett, 38, Roeland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. In his plea, Arnett admitted that investigators found child pornography on his computer when they served a search warrant May 15, 2012, at his home in Roeland Park.

The case began when Homeland Security seized child pornography including images of victims who appeared to be from the area of Overland Park, Kan. Investigators focused on a water bottle in one of the photos bearing the words “Midwest Aquatics” and a phone number beginning with the 913 area code. Midwest Aquatics is a swim and scuba center located at 7565 W. 160th Street in Overland Park.

With the assistance of teachers at an elementary school in Shawnee Mission, investigators ultimately identified three boys who been photographed at Arnett’s home at 5451 Juniper Drive in Roeland Park. At the time the photos were taken, the boys were 11, 8 and 2 years old.

Grissom commended ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin for their work on the case.